C.A. Sanders's Blog, page 26

The Things You Forget

I wrote this yesterday, but I wanted to share it because it’s still hurting me. I expect that this will only get worse with time.

January 24th, 2013, 3 years, 3 months, and 3 days ago, my partner Valerie died. There was very little warning. She had just started her PhD in Writing at Binghamton, and I went up to visit her. The change from seeing her several times a week to rarely was getting to me. Our plan was that as soon as my lease was up, I would move there with her.

When I got there, she...

Writers in the Mountains Conference

On Sunday, I was privileged to be part of the Writers in the Mountains’s “Meet the Authors” conference. Set in a distillery (talk about reinforcing a stereotype) in Arkville, NY, it was one of the most supportive, interesting, and especially fun, writing events that I’ve attended. Thank you so very much to the good people at Writers in the Mountains.

First, let me plug the distillery, because they deserve it. Union Grove Distillery opened only three months ago, and their vodka is fantastic. I...

Hooray!

This website has gone over 1000 views a month every month since last August, with two months over 2000 and one over 3000. Thank you all for the support. I promise to continue with the geeky goodness, silly memes, and occasional serious topics.

Oh, and more of this guy:

Fly, Flappy, fly!

BTW: The Watchmage of Old New York is 99 cents on Amazon until May 31st (2016). *hypnotizing voice* buyyyyyy myyyy boooookkkkk…buyyyyy myyyy booookkkk. Or not, it’s cool.

Watchmage Now 99 Cents

Because sales are lagging, and because Amazon blocked or deleted a bunch of reviews from review sites, I’m having another 99 cent sale. If you like my writing and have an interest in history or fantasy (both would be optimal) you’ll probably dig this book. It has a 4.8 rating on Amazon right now, so people agree. You can buy it here.

Meanwhile, the sequel is with my beta-readers. So far I’m getting positive feedback for it. I don’t know when it’ll be out. My editor is only available during s...

Farewell Chyna

It’s never good to wake up and hear that one of your favorite wrestlers has passed away. That’s what happened today. Joanie Laurer, better known as Chyna, died last night in California. The medical examiners don’t know the cause yet, so I won’t speculate. All I can really talk about here are my feelings.

I’ve been a wrestling fan all of my life. Growing up in NYC, that means that you’re a WWF fan (Madison Square Garden is still considered by old school fans to be the home of the WWF/WWE). As...

Anger Ball

Ever have one of those days when you’re angry at the world and don’t know why? Of course you have. You’re human…unless you’re not, in which case I politely ask that you don’t anal probe me.

Note: I was going to find a funny anal probe meme…never image search “anal probe.” Ever. EVER!!!!

Today is one of those days. I’m just a great big bloated gassy ball of rage…extra gassy…I’m surprised that Katie hasn’t left me. I could literally drive her away with my methane exhaust (she’s actually very t...

Surprise Wisdom From D&D

Every other Saturday is D&D day. I love the campaign I’m in. We’ve been playing together for 20 years, in several different campaigns. The DM is a great storyteller. The PCs are interesting and complex. The plot is phenomenal to the point where I’m jealous.

Something interesting came up in out-of-character conversation:

K: So your character’s evil now? (He’s wearing a helm that is slowly changing his alignment to Lawful Evil)

Me: No, Lawful Neutral for now, but he used to be a Lawful Goody...

Cats of D&D

There’s a phenomenon going around that I can’t get enough of. It’s called “Cats of D&D” and it’s…well…you can figure it out. Kittehs, D&D references, and pretty much everything I could hope for. Here are some of my favorites:

This is so fake. No cat is Lawful Good

Now this is more like it. Cats probably get sick sneak attack bonuses.

A classic. I think that cats should get a casting penalty for lack of fingers.

This one summarizes why I hate playing epic campaigns.

I could really go for...

Did I Make Amazon Mad?

I have no clue what I did, but over the past two weeks Amazon has removed several of the reviews for The Watchmage of Old New York, and blocked at least five (people have told me that their reviews were blocked). I’m now down to 18 reviews, and who knows how far it will fall.

I don’t understand what I did wrong. I’ve never broken the terms and conditions or tried anything shady. Hell, I don’t even let my family leave reviews for fear of breaking terms. I guess i’m just unlucky.

They also rem...

The Style of Elements

Here’s another article that attempts to help people write. I tried using the metaphor of elements and alchemy to describe the parts of a story. Feedback is always appreciated.
******

In other articles, I’ve written about how a story rests on three pillars: plot, setting, and characterization. While I still believe in this, I consciously left out that most elusive of trait…

Source: The Style of Elements